Sabri Lamouchi may have resisted pleas to start Didier Drogba but the Ivory Coast have not abandoned time-honoured tactics completely. The country’s president has made the tried but not always trusted offer to double players’ bonuses should they beat Greece on Tuesday and take the Elephants beyond the World Cup’s group stage for the first time. It is a reputation for choking, not their bank balances, they need to improve in Brazil.

Africa’s representatives have begun to restore pride and hope after a worrying start to the tournament, exemplified by Cameroon. Algeria and Nigeria have their first wins, Ghana stretched Germany to the limit and now it falls to Ivory Coast to finish what they started against Japan by accompanying Colombia out of Group C. The problem is not simply an obstinate Greek opponent with a knack of scraping through but Ivory Coast’s record of folding when expectations are high. “We need to be stronger mentally,” Gervinho admitted before the decider here.

Performances so far encourage belief that Lamouchi’s team will be the first qualifier from Africa to book a place in the second round and break Ivory Coast’s failure to qualify from a World Cup group at the third attempt – certainly in comparison with Greece’s goalless offerings against Colombia and Japan. But belief has not assisted Ivory Coast in the past.

They have entered the past five Africa Cup of Nations as favourites and not lived up to the billing once. Their previous two World Cup finals brought only disappointment but had the mitigating factor of an unfortunate group on each occasion, finishing third behind Argentina and Holland in 2006 then Brazil and Portugal in 2010. There is no such excuse in 2014, only the best and final chance for Drogba, Kolo Touré, Boubacar Barry, Didier Zokora and possibly Yaya Touré to advance on the World Cup stage. Hence the intervention of the president, Alassane Ouattara.

Ivory Coast’s players are on a reported €17,900 (£14, 300) bonus per man per win in Brazil. On Monday the president of the national assembly, Guillaume Soro, was dispatched to the squad’s training base in Águas de Lindóia with the message: “The president of the republic asked me to tell you that Ivorians are proud of you, he is proud of you. Despite the loss, you were brave against Colombia. He also instructed me to inform you that the bonus match against Greece will be doubled.”

A €35,800 incentive will not transform the lives of millionaires such as Drogba and Yaya Touré, though the Ivory Coast-based reserve goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo would certainly benefit, but the gesture underlines the country’s longing for promise to come to fruition at a World Cup. The winners here will advance providing Japan do not cause an upset and beat the already qualified Colombia. A draw will suffice for Ivory Coast unless Japan beat Colombia by a two-goal margin or more. Only victory will give Greece, the 2004 European champions, a chance to remain involved.

As before the 2-1 win over Japan and the 2-1 loss to Colombia, Lamouchi’s press conferences continue to be dominated by questions over his omission of Drogba from the starting lineup. Greece’s defensive reputation, restored after holding Japan to a goalless draw despite losing the captain Konstantinos Katsouranis to a red card in the first half, has merely intensified the Drogba debate, with Wilfried Bony, Gervinho and Max Gradel often occupying the same space against Colombia.

The coach is clearly irritated by the repeated narrative. “It is important not to get fixated over Didier Drogba, it is only the second match he is on the bench,” said Lamouchi after Colombia. For his part, Drogba has been an admirable team player. “Why always questions about me?” he asked the Ivory Coast media. “You want to sensationalise things but the most important thing is the team.” Nor would he be drawn on whether life on the bench had caused frustration. Drogba straight-batted: “That’s personal. I cannot always express what I feel. It’s the choice of coach and I respect that.”

Lamouchi does not appear inclined to change his team against Greece. “We didn’t deserve to lose to Colombia,” he insisted. “We made a few untimely errors and paid a heavy price. I’m not going to get too carried away with what went on. There are only some small things to iron out ahead of the next game.”

Zokora’s suspension for the final group game raises the prospect of both Kolo and Yaya Touré starting for the Ivory Coast only six days after their 28-year-old brother, former Nice forward Oyala Ibrahim, died of cancer. The pair vowed to play on rather than return home following their sibling’s death, sharing the belief that Ivory Coast’s debut in the knockout stage of the World Cup would provide the most fitting tribute.